VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) -
The Pacific Northwest has gained the notorious reputation as a Mecca for child sex trafficking, but now there could be new hope for victims in Vancouver, WA.
Dr. Cyndi Romine, of the non-profit Called To Rescue, received a grant of $100,000 from the group "Global Assistance," to open up a special, high-security safe house for children trying to escape the dangerous lifestyle.
"The need is critical, absolutely critical," Dr. Romine told Fox 12.
She's been talking to Vancouver Police about her plan and the community's needs. Officers would be able to drop off young victims picked up off the streets of Washington.
"It's not a lifestyle you want to live," said Melissa, a survivor of sex trafficking. Melissa said she wishes more resources had been available to her when she tried to leave the lifestyle nearly a decade ago.
"It's a cycle," she said. "You can get out of it, but unless you get the proper help and support, you're going to continue to go through the cycle."
Melissa said, all too often, victims don't know where to go after their arrested and released, and they end up returning to their pimp.
Under Senate Bill 6476, beginning July 2011, children picked up for sex trafficking, or a prostitution offense for the first time, may be held at a secure crisis residential center, instead of facing charges for up to 15 days, according to the "Child in Need of Services" petition.
"In that 15 days, we can give her a different dream, a different idea," said Dr. Romine. "I'm excited about that 15-day period."
"I envision this house being a place where a person can stay for one day to maybe three months, then transition back into something that doesn't have to be as secure," said Dr. Romine.
She's still looking for an exact place to house it, as well as social workers to help run it.
"It's going to help so many people," said Melissa who knows firsthand the amount of help and support it takes to escape the dark life of sex trafficking.
"These girls, that's what they need," said Melissa. "To know they have somewhere to go, somebody who is going to look at them without judging them, help guide them, and know it's not the life they have to live."
For more information on Called To Rescue http://www.calledtorescue.org/ , call 1-360-356-3761or email calledtorescue@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, Portland has added shelter beds for child sex trafficking victims at a crisis center run by Janus Youth Programs.
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